A huge fleet of carriages entered Beiliang's Youzhou from Huainan's River Prefecture and headed straight for Wudang Mountain.
The fleet was escorted by the imperial guards who had dazzling golden threads wrapped around their scabbards. There were also nearly twenty inner palace experts who had copper embroidered fish pouches around their waists.
Behind this group of carriages, there was another group of luxurious carriages following far behind. The coachmen driving the carriages were, without exception, top-notch martial artists with long Qi auras.
It was the time when Liyang destroyed Buddhism and promoted Daoism. In the north and south of the Yangtze River, there were new Daoist temples rising from the ground in all the geographical centers and spiritual mountains. The sound of immortal music resounded throughout the Central Plains. Among them, Xingyang Temple in Great Peace City was built like a forbidden palace. There were statues of the five emperors, including Ancestor Taizong of Liyang. They were placed on both sides of the statues of the Daoist saints according to the ancient order of Lizhao and Mu. They took the materials from the Iridescent Cloud Pavilion of the imperial palace and used them to build the gate of Xingyang Temple. They broke the inner palace's Sweet Spring Hall and used it to build the Hall of Laojun. The projection wall of the temple was painted with a grand system of thirty-six heavenly caves and seventy-two blessed lands of Daoism. For a time, Xingyang Temple became the head of all the Daoist temples in the world. The head of the temple, Wu Lingsu, was the Daoist who personally sealed the gate of the Two Zen Temples. She was now worthy of being the head of the northern Daoist temple. Therefore, there was a saying in the world, "Xingyang Temple in the capital, Ancestral Court in the north and south". Just when everyone knew that the white-robed monks of the Two Zen Temples were going to debate with the Daoist priests of Wudang on Lotus Peak, there was another news that the Yuyi Minister who was like the sun in the sky in Great Peace City was going to rush to Beiliang's Wudang Mountain as the head of the imperial court with an imperial edict in his hand. He was going to confer the title of Wudang's Supreme Leader, Huang Manshan, as a Void Pierce Master.
A middle-aged Daoist with an otherworldly aura was sitting in the carriage. He wore a purple-gold Daoist robe and had a purple horsetail whisk with three golden rings on his arm. He was smiling faintly. Beside the honorable Daoist sat a young man who looked very similar to him. Although he was also wearing a Daoist robe, he was closer to the secular world than the middle-aged Daoist. The young man said with a smile, "Father, I thought that after crossing the River Province Boundary Marker, the Youzhou military would at least send out a few hundred cavalries to intimidate us. It seems that Xu guy isn't completely lawless. He's still very wary of Father."
The middle-aged Daoist was none other than Wu Lingsu who had risen rapidly in Jing. He remembered that when he had just arrived at Great Peace City, the nobles of the city all liked to use his title of Qingcheng King to make fun of him. Occasionally, when they met at a banquet, who did not call him "Wang Ye" but did not bother to disguise the disdain in their eyes? Fortunately, the bitter days were over very quickly. He had failed to live up to expectations at Mount Longhu and was repeatedly tormented by the young man surnamed Xu. A certain mysterious Daoist who lived in seclusion at Mount Longhu had died and his Dao had vanished. This even angered the previous Emperor and the new Emperor. In addition, Li Yang was an irresistible trend. Finally, Wu Lingsu was able to transform into a dragon as soon as he encountered the wind and cloud. He forcefully stepped on Mount Longhu and the Two Zen Temples to reach the peak of power. Among all this, his wife in name had secretly taught him. Although the two had not actually been husband and wife, even though Wu Lingsu had become the Head of Taoism in the Northern Lands, he still held her in awe.
Wu Lingsu glanced at his only son, Wu Shizhen, and felt somewhat dissatisfied. He, the official Prefect of Chongxuan of the court, had gone to Mount Wudang to issue an imperial edict. What was this brat pulling in a bunch of Great Peace City wastrels to follow behind him? That First Young Master Wang Yuanran, his old man Wang Xionggui had already been pushed from the position of Minister of Revenue to the position of Administrator of the Guangling Path. First my ass. If it wasn't for the fact that Tantanon still remembered the incense from the Spring of Yonghui, with Wang Yuanran's shrewdness and ability, he would have long been eaten to the bone. There were also the other three young masters of Jing. Which one of them had any real weight? That pervert surnamed Yan at least had the famous general grandfather Yan Zhenchun. Even if Great Peace City did not give face to the monk, they would still give face to the Buddha. They would more or less not bicker with this brat. But that little fatty called Song Tianbao, none of his ancestors had ever been an official or studied. He just relied on his father's wealth to spend money in Jing. Every day, he was a sucker for other people. He was just a silly little fool. Could this kind of rootless wealth last long? It was just a hundred-zhang tall building built on sand. When the wind blew, it could collapse at will.
Wu Lingsu said earnestly, "Shizhen, in my opinion, the sons of the aristocratic families in the capital are also divided into three, six, and nine ranks. For example, although Wang Yuanran's father, Wang Xionggui, was demoted from a first-class official to the most dangerous position, the Administrator, in the future, the Six Ministries will serve outside the capital for a few years before returning to the capital. As the only remaining pillar of Zhang Lu, it is a good thing that one person cannot support the situation. Wang Xionggui may have a chance to make a comeback. Wang Yuanran also has Tantanon to take care of him. Father will not oppose you getting to know him. But compared to the eldest son of Yin Maochun, Yin Changgeng, and the only son of the Assistant Minister of Justice, Han Lin, Han Xingyan, Wang Yuanran is much worse. He can't even compare to Fan Zhanghou, Li Jifu, and Gao Tingshu. As for that Yan Family brat who doesn't amount to anything, his family is just like a half-dead person hanging on by a breath. That is why you … "
Let's talk about Zhao Wenwei, Yin Changgeng, and Han Xingyan, these three people's fathers were all Grand Secretary Zhang's favorite students, and then they had the foresight to part ways a long time ago. The father's generation has a good official reputation, the younger generation's reputation isn't bad either. Even if I try to stick hot face to cold buttocks, they might not necessarily agree. Even if I thicken my skin and enter their homes, I still won't be able to become their close friend or confidante. Rather than this type of futile effort, I might as well spend a bit more effort on people like Wang Yuanran. "
Wu Lingsu sighed and said, "Small matters, it is hard to accomplish great things."
Wu Shizhen said with a bitter face, "I actually want to get close to that Chen Shaobao, but he doesn't even give you, father, face, so why would he pay me any attention?"
Wu Lingsu reached out a hand to stroke the horsetail whisk's vermilion silk, saying softly, "Us father and son's foundation is still a bit shallow."
Wu Shizhen leaned over to this new leader of Northern Daoism, saying with a low voice, "Father, if we can take advantage of this opportunity to trample on that surnamed Xu and return to the capital, father's position in His Majesty's heart will definitely rise a step further. Taking a step back, I can find an opportunity to secretly push Wang Yuanran and the other hotheads out to make a feud with Beiliang. Once they return to the capital and make a ruckus, the Xu family's reputation in the capital will be completely ruined. "
Wu Lingsu was hesitant. "That person even dares to refuse an imperial edict, and this is also his territory, how can Wang Yuanran and the others shake him in the slightest? As for the curses of Great Peace City's officialdom, the Xu family father and son have never paid them any attention. Be careful not to smash your own foot with a rock. Beiliang's Whisk Water Room spies can fight with Liyang's Zhao Gou for many years without being at a disadvantage, they cannot be underestimated. Wang Yuanran and the others can't accomplish anything, I don't think they will succeed. "
Wu Shizhen said with a smile, "I don't expect that Xu person to be hurt. It's also good to disgust him."
Wu Shizhen remembered the scene of him being humiliated by that peer at Mount Qingcheng. His tone was dark as he said, "Even if Xu person has some information that he can use against him, would he really dare to kill over such a small matter?"
Wu Lingsu suddenly asked, "In the group behind us, the one surnamed Liu, the son of the County Chief of Hezhou, said that he used a scabbard to hit Xu person in the past. Is that true?"
Wu Shizhen said with schadenfreude, "It's most likely true. According to what Liu Chengfeng said, Hsu Fengnian was traveling the jianghu with an old servant. They passed by Hezhou and had a conflict on the street. In the end, he used the scabbard of a cold blade to smash Hsu Fengnian's forehead. That guy also said that Hsu Fengnian threatened to bring ten thousand Beiliang cavalry to raze Hezhou. So Liu Chengfeng asked him who he was, and Hsu Fengnian asked him back, 'Xu Xiao is my father. Who do you think I am?' Liu Chengfeng, of course, did not believe him. After hitting Hsu Fengnian with the scabbard, he simply pulled out his blade and chased after him for half a street. Last year, I heard from the storytellers in the restaurants in the county that Hsu Fengnian was His Royal Highness. He really did travel the jianghu with an old servant, Bai Long. He was scared to death. Especially when Hsu Fengnian refused to accept the imperial edict and sent the Youzhou cavalry to invade Hezhou. Not only Liu Chengfeng, but also his father and his whole family ran out of the city. Afterwards, when they saw that the Youzhou cavalry had no intention of invading Hezhou, they returned to the county with fear. "
Wu Lingsu also found it interesting and said with a smile, "But later, wasn't there an incident where ten thousand Youzhou cavalry entered Jizhou? They had to pass through Hezhou. "
Wu Shizhen laughed so hard that tears almost came out of his eyes. "So the family resumed their old business and ran away at night. Fortunately, the Youzhou cavalry returned through Hulukou, so Liu Chengfeng's father did not resign and move to Jiangnan. However, the Liu family also benefited from the disaster. The entire Hezhou knew about this hero who dared to beat up the King of Beiliang. Even Liu Chengfeng's father received a unique 'above average' in Hezhou in the local evaluation hosted by Yin Maochun. Liu Chengfeng and Song Tianbao are good friends who have known each other for many years. When he was welcoming Wang Yuanran and the others, he fell in love at first sight with the daughter of the former assistant minister of the Ministry of Justice. Plus, he was probably sure that Hsu Fengnian would not lower himself to his level, so he shamelessly followed him to Youzhou. "
Wu Lingsu, who was no longer a self-proclaimed king in a corner, sneered, "It is rumored that Song Tianbao's grandfather, as the number one God of Fortune in the two Liao Provinces, was not on good terms with Xu Xiao, who rose in Jinzhou in Liaodong. Liu Chengfeng and Wang Yuanran, who had a conflict with Hsu Fengnian in the Jiujiu Embassy in the capital, are indeed birds of a feather flock together."
Wu Shizhen's expression was a bit awkward. It seemed that he had to be included.
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